
Property
Robert Lamb(Author)
Polity Press
1st Edition
Published on 3. August 2020
Book
Hardback
176 pages
978-1-5095-1919-4 (ISBN)
Description
Few political ideas are as divisive and controversial for some - and yet taken for granted by others - as the ownership of private property. For critics, property is institutionalised theft, responsible for lamentable levels of inequality and poverty; for its defenders, private ownership is a fundamental right that protects individual freedom and ensures wider economic benefits for the community.
In this book, Robert Lamb explores philosophical arguments deployed to conceptualise, justify, and criticize private property ownership. After explaining what the right to ownership means, he introduces the radical case against property, as put by anarchist and socialist writers like Proudhon and Marx. He goes on to outline possible responses to this radical critique - through discussions and assessments of the various defences of property advanced by Locke, Hume, Hegel, J.S. Mill, and Nozick - before considering how more recent theorists, such as John Rawls and Elinor Ostrom, push us to rethink the nature of ownership in a democratic society.
This engaging synthesis of historical and contemporary theories of property will be essential reading for students and scholars of normative questions in political philosophy.
Reviews / Votes
"In addressing the most influential theories of property to have emerged over the last four centuries, Robert Lamb captures a complex body of arguments into a concise, accessible, and yet sophisticated book. The result is an impressive and valuable achievement."Daniel Halliday, The University of Melbourne
"In his magisterial tour through the history of philosophical theories of property, Robert Lamb presents a perspicuous map of the territory, and a lucid account of how we can think more clearly about property rights and their implications. This book will be an invaluable resource for students and researchers in political philosophy and political theory, as well as being of interest and value to citizens thinking about politics."
Martin O'Neill, University of York
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
340 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5095-1919-4 (9781509519194)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Robert Lamb is Associate Professor and Director of Research at the University of Exeter

